The Young/Emerging Adult Grief Therapy Group Experience
BY HANNAH DUDLEY, LMFT
“It helped more than I expected and may be one of the more important moves I've made since everything started a year ago.”
Thinking you might be interested in some grief support, but not sure where to start?
Doing individual work, but feel like you need to be around peers who “get it”?
Want more information to provide a referral to your friend or your clients?
Read below to learn more about the creation and structure of this group, as well as feedback from actual young/emerging adults who have attended, to understand better what the experience may be like.
Developed to Serve a Need Missing in Our Community
With all of our current team members having had experience working at Judi’s House, a highly respected bereavement center for children and their families in Denver, CO (check them out here: www.judishouse.org), we know there is phenomenal group support available to children and their families in our community. However, Judi’s House mission is focused on children (age of individuals able to receive services is capped at 25).
Hospice organizations are another amazing resource in our community, providing grief support, however attendees tend to be middle-aged or older (given the nature of the services hospice provides).
As a young/emerging adult myself when I was launching Healthy Self. Healthy Life., I wondered where those in their mid-20’s to mid-30’s go to find grief support in a group format. I began looking for resources and while I found some, they were often aimed at very specific types of loss or may not be offered on an ongoing basis to make it easy for those who need the support to get it when they need it most.
Our Young/Emerging Adult Grief Therapy Group was created to meet this need. It is focused on those around mid-20’s to mid-30’s who have had someone important in their life die. Relationship, timeline, and type of death loss varies - all aspects will be addressed & supported in this group, keeping it general enough to cast a wide net, but also focused enough to meet the needs of this specific age group.
Structure of Group:
Grief is messy - and this may be your first true experience that the world is not always a safe and predictable place. We are intentional about creating structure to our group sessions, overall and during each meeting, so there is some predictability and safety in knowing what to expect. While the topics may be different each week, we begin and end group the same each session; we also include a topic area of discussion, some type of activity to explore the topic, and some type of coping skill. At the same time, we are flexible enough to adapt to the specific group members (or time of year).
What past attendees have to say about the structure of group:
“It was nice to have an overarching structure with opportunities for expansion on certain topics or discussions. Bringing strangers together to talk about personal topics is difficult, so having guiding questions helped to open up the floor for discussion.”
“It was open to natural discussion and fluid. I thought the guided topics were good to avoid a spiral out on some irrelevant tangent.”
Topics Covered in the Group:
As valued members of the Judi’s House Comprehensive Grief Care Pathfinders Provider Program, we are able to offer their group curriculum in our practice. We have tailored the curriculum to meet the unique needs of young/emerging adults, and utilize it as a soft structure, so we can also meet the unique needs of the specific members in that season’s group offering.
What past attendees have to say about the topics covered in group:
“I think everyone benefits from hearing how others are dealing with the ebbs and flows of grief waves and offered me some insights to give myself grace with how I'm feeling and dealing with things.”
“Topics opened me to issues I hadn't even considered, and were not overly structured as to make it feel like a classroom.”
“There were a number of things I really enjoyed, being able to bounce ideas off other group members was awesome.”
Other details:
While everyone’s experience is unique, group support can be so important to help us feel less alone. We can gain ideas, reassurance, and empathy from others in a group format. It is a safe place to share and explore thoughts and feelings you may not have shared with friends or family, perhaps not even admitted to yourself. There is even the possibility of developing a sense of community with others who have a common factor.
What past attendees have to say about their general experience of group:
“I am definitely glad I participated in the group, and ultimately feel like it was helpful for me, even though it sometimes felt uncomfortable.”
“It took me a long time to get comfortable with the fact that I felt very self-conscious about not emoting enough. I was worried it seemed like I was disengaged...but listening to everyone's stories was so important and impactful. It really helped me to feel less alone.”
“I never thought having 4 complete strangers could be as much of a supporting group as it became.”
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR YOUNG/EMERGING ADULT GRIEF THERAPY GROUP OFFERINGS, PLEASE VISIT OUR GROUP PROGRAMS PAGE HERE.